Briefs | BCAP bigger and better

The Boulder County AIDS Project recently opened a new Longmont Service Center at 515 Kimbark St., Ste. 100.

A bilingual HIV/AIDS medical case manager will be available at the new office four days a week to provide services to HIV-positive residents of Longmont and east Boulder County. The new agency is more conveniently located than BCAP’s previous Longmont office, is wheelchair accessible, and is close to public transportation. The agency also plans to offer a food pantry for clients at the location.

“Our Longmont clients have had to travel to Boulder to access food from our BCAP Market,” says Ana Hopperstad, BCAP executive director. “We are excited to have the opportunity to provide nutritious, high-protein foods necessary to support health in individuals who are living with severely compromised immune systems in Longmont.”

Trim your own tree

Golden Gate Canyon State Park is now offering a limited number of permits for cutting a holiday tree in selected areas of the park. The permits, which cost $20, can be purchased for either Dec. 4 or Dec. 5.

There are tree-cutting areas for both four-wheel- and two-wheel-drive vehicles, and some hiking is required. The permit is good regardless of rain or snow, and no refunds will be given for bad weather.

The tree cutting permits will be available for purchase in person at the park visitor center, located at 92 Crawford Gulch Rd., 15 miles west of Golden, or by phone, using a credit card for payment, by calling 303-582- 3707. Permits will be sold from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, while supplies last. Visitors must collect their permits from the visitor center on the permit date, prior to cutting their tree.

Permit holders are allowed one tree per permit. A valid park pass, either a $7 daily pass or an annual pass, is also required for each vehicle. The passes can be purchased at the visitor center.

Trees must be cut with hand tools, such as a handsaw or an axe. Chainsaws and power saws are strictly prohibited. Christmas trees that measure a maximum of 15 feet tall or have a maximum trunk diameter of six inches may be cut. Tree selections include Douglas fir, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine and Rocky Mountain juniper.

By cutting a Christmas tree, the permit holders will assist Golden Gate Canyon State Park in thinning overcrowded and dense vegetation, which will improve the overall forest health and reduce the impacts of future wildfires.

For additional information, contact the visitor center at 303-582-3707.

Pottery sale

The Boulder Potter’s Guild, a nonprofit cooperative founded in 1969, will hold its fall Holiday Sale Nov. 11-14 at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont.

Most guild members will be offering their work for sale, just in time for the upcoming holidays. In addition to pottery, there will be other member-created artwork, including hand-made jewelry, cards, photographs, drawings and paintings. This year, the guild is sponsoring victims of the Fourmile fire, offering them space to sell their work at the holiday sale.

The sale will be in the fairground’s Building A, at the corner of Hover Street and Nelson Road. The hours of the sale are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m on Sunday. For more information, call 303-440-3403.

Accessibility conference on tap

The University of Colorado at Boulder is hosting a conference this week aimed at improving access to the Internet for people with disabilities.

Around 30 million Americans who suffer from vision and mobility impairments have limited access to the Internet and often can’t use new gadgets and software, which can exclude them from education and work. And as the indispensability of the Internet grows, the problem of access also grows.

For the past 13 years, CU’s Accessing Higher Ground conference has helped higher education assistive technology experts stay on top of the challenges of accessing the Internet. Scheduled for Nov. 15 -19 at the Westin Hotel in Westminster, the conference will feature more than 50 workshops on topics including Web and media access, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, legal requirements and policy issues, and accommodations for students with learning disabilities, visual impairments and physical disabilities.

A local Thanksgiving tradition continues this year as Boulder’s Pedestrian Shops ask residents to donate shoes to help people in need.

Take new or slightly used shoes to the Pedestrian Shops between Friday, Nov. 19, and Sunday, Dec. 12. Customers who donate will receive a 10 percent discount on their next purchase. For 22 years, the shops have collected used shoes twice a year for distribution by local assistance organizations. The second donation drive occurs in April to celebrate Earth Day. The Pedestrian Shops have collected more than 35,000 pairs of shoes for reuse by people in need.

The Pedestrian Shops is a 40-year-old family business with two stores.

For more information, visit www.comfortableshoes.com

Students launch writing contest

High school students on the City of Boulder Youth Opportunities Advisory Board (YOAB) are organizing a writing contest in anticipation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Winners will be selected in each of four categories: middle school, high school, fluent in English and not fluent in English.

Each winner will receive $100 in Downtown Boulder gift cards. Entrants must live in or attend school in the city of Boulder.

The contest is co-sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center.

Contest entries are due Monday, Dec. 20. More information, including themes and possible topics, is available at www.yoab.org or by calling 303- 441-4349.